Staff Reporter :
A writ petition was filed with the High Court (HC) on Tuesday seeking its directive upon the authorities concerned of the government to probe into the incidents of phone tapping of those already leaked.
The writ also prayed to the HC to pass directions upon the authorities for ensuring the prevention of the phone tapping.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir on behalf of 10 Supreme Court lawyers filed the petition with a HC bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mustafizur Rahman. The lawyer said, the writ will be heard according the court’s cause-list.
The petition also prayed to the High Court to issue a rule asking the respondents to explain as to why the inaction of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in stopping the phone tapping should not be declared illegal.The Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology; Posts and Telecommunications Division, ICT Division, and Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) have been made respondents in the writ petition.
A total of 20 incidents of phone tapping between the periods 2013 to 2021 have been mentioned in the writ petition. The incidents included the leaked phone tapping of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Earlier on June 22 this year a legal notice was served upon the concerned bodies of the government to know what necessary steps had been taken to prevent the phone tapping and to ensure the citizens’ right to privacy of telecommunication. As the notice sender didn’t receive any compliance they filed the writ petition.
Mentioning Article 43 of the Constitution where Bangladesh recognizes the protection of privacy of letters and other means of communication as a fundamental right of citizens, the notice drew attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that has recognized and protected the rights to privacy of the citizens.
They also referred to the Section 6 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Act, 2001, according to which the telecommunications regulatory commission was established. The commission is legally responsible for ensuring the protection of the privacy of telecommunications.
The 10 lawyers who filed the petition are- Rezowana Ferdose, Uttam Kumar Banik, Shah Navila Kashphi, Farhad Ahmed Siddiky, Mohammad Noab Ali, Mohammed Ibrahim Khalil, Mustafizur Rahman, GM Muzahidur Rahman, Imrul Kayes and Eakramul Kabir.
